Tracking a Tiger

Tuesday

Feb 13, 2007 at 12:23 AM

BY DOUG FERGUSONTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - For all the fuss over Tiger Woods taking another week off, perhaps the Nissan Open should consider this possibility: It still might have the hottest player in golf at Riviera.
True, one victory by Phil Mickelson still leaves him six short of Woods' streak.
And despite a five-shot victory at Pebble Beach, some perspective is in order.
Lefty usually wins at least once before leaving his native West Coast, and this was the 11th time in 15 seasons that he won before the PGA Tour reached Florida. Plus, the only serious competition he faced Sunday came from Kevin Sutherland and rookie John Mallinger, whose world ranking last week was, respectively, No. 256 and No. 454.
But there was something about Mickelson's game that indicated he is ready to step back into the ring.
In years past when his game has slipped a notch, Mickelson has devoted time to scoring shots - specifically, 150 yards and in - and sharpening his putting stroke by staying on the practice green until he made 100 straight putts from 3 feet.
But after the debacle at Winged Foot - not just the double bogey on the 18, but hitting only two fairways in the final round - he was consumed by becoming a better driver.
Mickelson hit 81 percent of his fairways in two rounds at Pebble Beach and one each at Poppy Hills and Spyglass. PGA stats show him missing only one fairway in his final round, though he said he also missed the fairway at No. 9.
Don't get the idea Fred Funk, a guy who picks out stripes left by the lawn mower, has anything to fear.
"I will never lead the stat is driving accuracy. Let's not overdo this," Mickelson said. "But if I could improve 20 or 25 percent in my accuracy, that's going to make a big difference in my scores."
Sutherland is good friends with Mickelson and sees him plenty. And he was impressed.
"He drove it for the most part on a string, right down the middle of the fairway," Sutherland said.
Mickelson is so confident about his driver that he used it on the short fourth hole, which plays uphill with water on the right and bunkers on the left. That's where he tried his latest shot, a low draw, and it twice set him up with the perfect angle into the green for a short wedge.
This is the first time he can remember hitting a tee shot and not being overly concerned when he looked to see where it was headed.
"I've never had this type of feeling on the tee box," he said. "I just feel so confident right now."
Mickelson has not played Riviera since 2001, and he hasn't played it very well. The course has tight fairways, not necessarily of the U.S. Open variety, but tight to have an optimum angle into the green. Lefty has been there eight times, never finished in the top 10 and missed four cuts.
But he was so excited about his game that he said after Thursday round of 65 at Poppy Hills that he might add the Nissan Open to his schedule, and by Friday morning at Pebble Beach, it was a done deal.
"I wanted to play a little bit more competitive golf with the way I'm playing before I start my run up for Augusta," Mickelson said. "I'm looking forward to playing at Riviera. It won't be a similar style golf at Augusta, but it's pretty close to a U.S. Open."
Strangely enough, the U.S. Open is where it all started.
Mickelson didn't linger on Winged Foot because he had two majors still to play in 2006. But once he shut it down for the year, right after going 0-4-1 in the Ryder Cup, he allowed himself to reflect on his collapse and fix the problem.
One can only imagine what was going through his mind.
The guy who said, "I am such an idiot" after the U.S. Open probably came to this conclusion: "It's the driver, stupid."
"It seems to be the strength of his game is his iron play and his putting," Sutherland said. "Everybody knows he has great imagination around the green. So when he's driving the ball as well as he did today ... he is going to be a force."
Mickelson moved up to No. 4 in the world, which means if the stars align next week in Arizona, he and Woods could meet in the semifinals of the Accenture Match Play Championship. That might be asking too much, for that tournament never goes according to plan.
Woods and Mickelson staged their greatest duel at Doral two years ago. Lefty has said he would play Bay Hill this year, although that might change considering this six-week stretch now.
All that really matters is the Masters. Mickelson is the defending champion at Augusta, and don't think it wasn't sweet to have Woods slip that green jacket on his shoulders.
The worst thing about Winged Foot was that Mickelson could have joined Woods as the only players in the last 50 years to win three straight majors. That would have sent him to the British Open with a chance to match the feat many thought only Woods could achieve.
It's early. Pebble is only one tournament.
But equipped with a new punch, it could be the start of Mickelson climbing back into the ring for another bout with Woods.